Holy Thursday, Morning Prayer
GREETING
O God, as you fed the people of Israel manna
in the desert,
feed us know the bread that satisfies.
O God of life and hope,
give us living bread.
DOXOLOGY
PSALM 116:12-19
What gift can ever repay God’s gift to us?
What gift can ever repay
God’s gift to me?
I raise the cup of freedom
as I call on God’s name!
I fulfill my vows to you, Lord,
standing before your assembly.
Lord, you hate to see
your faithful ones die.
I beg you, Lord, hear me:
it is I, the servant you love,
I, the child of your servant.
You freed me from death’s grip.
I bring a gift of thanks,
as I call on your name.
I fulfill my vows to you, Lord,
standing before your assembly,
in the courts of your house,
within the heart of Jerusalem.
WISDOM 16:20-21, 26; 17:1a
Eating this bread, they tasted your sweetness,
the perfect meal for their deepest hunger.
You hand-fed your people
with food for angels,
heaven’s bread:
ready to eat,
richly satisfying,
pleasing to every taste.
Eating this bread,
they tasted your sweetness,
the perfect meal
for their deepest hunger and hope.
The children you love
will learn this, Lord:
it is our word,
not the bounty of fruits,
that feeds and preserves
your faithful ones.
Great are your judgments,
beyond calculations!
READING: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
I received from the Lord what I also handed on
to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when
he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when
he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This
is my body that is for you. Do this in remem-
brance of me.” In the same way he took the cup
also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new
covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you
drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as
you eat this bread and drink the cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who shepherds the people and sets them free.
God raises from David’s house
a child with power to save.
Through the holy prophets
God promised in ages past
to save us from enemy hands,
from the grip of all who hate us.
The Lord favored our ancestors
recalling the sacred covenant,
the pledge to our ancestor Abraham,
to free us from our enemies,
so we might worship without fear
and be holy and just all our days.
And you, child, will be called
Prophet of the Most High,
for you will come to prepare
a pathway for the Lord
by teaching the people salvation
through forgiveness of their sin.
Out of God’s deepest mercy
a dawn will come from on high,
light for those shadowed by death,
a guide for our feet on the way to peace.
INTERCESSIONS
Christ Jesus, we bow before the holy mysteries
of this day: your love of us, your patience, your
humble service, your obedience to your mission.
Fill us with gratitude for your life and death,
as we pray on behalf of all your people:
~ Christ Jesus, we thank you.
~ On this day, you took a loaf of bread, gave
thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that
is for you. Do this in remembrance of me”:
~ On this day, you took the cup also, saying, “This
cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me”:
~ On this day, you washed the feet of your
disciples, saying, “I have set you an example,
that you also should do as I have done for you”
for “servants are not greater than their master”:
~ On this day, you were “troubled in spirit,” yet
you prayed, “not my will but yours be done”:
~ On this day, you acknowledged to the soldiers
and police, “I am he,” and they arrested and
bound you:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
PRAYER
Faithful God, Jesus gave us the gift of his own
Body and Blood that we might have food to
sustain us. As we share the Eucharist of Jesus
Christ, let us become eucharist to one another.
May our lives be blessed, broken and given
that your people may live. This we ask in the
name of Jesus, our living Bread. Amen.
BLESSING
O God, sustain us with your Bread. Amen.
O God, strengthen us with your Bread. Amen.
O God, send us forth to be bread for your people. Amen.
Evening Prayer is omitted by those who participate
in the evening celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s
Supper.